


We are the Alphas

by TheBroadwayCult



Series: WATA Universe [1]
Category: Don't Stop Me - Malloy/Knight
Genre: Crack Fic, F/F, F/M, Furry, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-01
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-12 19:46:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 9,708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29140983
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheBroadwayCult/pseuds/TheBroadwayCult
Summary: “You want to start… a club?” Mr. DJ asked. “What makes you think I’ll help you two?”“Please, we’ll do anything!” Samson and Mo pleaded.“Alright, I’ll help you two. But only if you guys help me.”Aka Catboy Samson x Wolfboy Mo
Relationships: Cyrus Abraham/Zander Valle, Dakota Scott/The DJ (Don’t Stop Me), Grace Wexler/Tye Spring, Roger Dickson/Dakota Scott, Royshanna (Don’t Stop Me)/Nicki (Don’t Stop Me), Samson (Don’t Stop Me)/Mo (Don’t Stop Me)
Series: WATA Universe [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2191050
Comments: 3
Kudos: 5





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Awoooo

“You want to start… a club?” The history teacher looked up at the two twinky teenage boys holding hands standing next to his desk. “What makes you think I’ll help you two?”

“Please Mr. DJ!” The shorter of the two who wore a cat ear headband pleaded. “We need a teacher to run a group and everyone else has said no! Mo tell him. You don’t even have to do anything, I’ve already declared myself president of the group. All we need is a supervisor.”

Mo whined, mimicking a wounded wolf. “There’s no point, Sammy, he’s going to disappoint us like everyone else. I guess we’re meant to be a pack of two…” The two boys dropped their heads and turned to walk out of the empty classroom.

“Wait, wait.” Mr. DJ stopped the two before they could leave. “I’ll help you two. But 𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙮 if you help me.”

“Yes yes, anything!” Mo exclaimed, wagging the rainbow wolf tail he had attached to his jeans. “What do you want?”

——

Jaynie clapped her hands together. Frankly, she didn’t understand her friends’ love over being… human hybrid animals but they called her homophobic when she said no so here she was helping run this. “Welcome to the first meeting of Plain Springs High FCC–!”

“That stands for Furry Convention Club!” Samson interrupted. He looked at the 3 nerdy-looking kids who sat in the front row of Mr. DJ’s classroom. Grace, Janelle, and Dakota, who had hardly spoken to each other before, sat in awkward silence.

“I’m sorry, but I thought Mr. DJ was running the club? That’s what the flyer said…” The eldest girl, Dakota spoke up.

Mr. DJ cleared his throat, winking at the senior who was in his class the year before. “I’m just here to supervise. But I hate to break it to you all, but unless there are at least ten members by the end of this week, you all can kiss this club goodbye.” He told the school club rules to the shocked students.

Mo trembled in Samson’s arms. “Capitalist bear-boo, what are we going to do?”

Samson looked determined. “We’ll figure it out and find more people. Don’t worry Mo-boo-berry, we’re the alphas.”


	2. Chapter 2

After the first meeting of the FCC was dismissed, Grace went to her locker to pick up the rest of her belongings. She found Tye sitting against the wall in the empty hallway, drawing in their notebook. “Hey! You waited for me!” The bubbly girl exclaimed.

“Oh-!” Tye slammed their notebook closed. “Yeah, I said I would. How was it?”

Grace got a glimpse of the doodle before it was shut. It looked like Tye in a rotting squirrel suit. “Well… Mr. Dj said we need three more members by the end of this week or he can’t sponsor us… but I believe we can do it!” She hesitated, “Maybe you could join us?”

“I think you can find enough people without me.”

“But I saw your picture! You can be yourself in this club, please?”

“Look I have to go,” Tye stood up and held their notebook protectively against their chest. “Let’s just go home.”

——

The next day at school, Janelle had asked nearly every person she came across if they would join the FCC, and every person laughed her away. She approached two twins who were talking in her homeroom. “Hi! I’m, um, Janelle. I was wondering if you guys wanted to join…” She felt a sharp tap on her shoulder, and when she whirled around, Janelle was face to face with her best friend Harper. “H-Harper! Hey.”

“What do you think you’re doing inviting these nobodies when I’m right here?” Harper’s voice cracked out of annoyance, and definitely not from pining over her friend.

“I- I thought you would say no…” Janelle said quietly as the twins behind her walked away while snickering. “You got a little aggressive at the last convention we went to…”

Harper put her hands on her hips. “Because those newbies kept photobombing my insta photos! And they totally got gum in my fur. When’s the next meeting?”

“There’s another one today after school… We need three more people.”

“Make that one more. I’m coming, and we’re taking Cyrus with us.”

——

“Janelle, you failed to mention only total losers were apart of this club,” Harper loudly whispered to Janelle when they walked into Mr. Dj’s classroom after school.

“And you think you’re not? I didn’t realize this club was full of lower-classmen.” Dakota, who was sitting in the seat closest to Mr. Dj’s desk, rolled her eyes at Harper.

“Oo someone’s feeling feral, I love it. Come on Cyrus, we’re sitting next to her.” Harper sat next to Dakota, patting the seat next to her for Cyrus.

“Harper? I thought you said I could sit next to you? Harper?” Janelle asked disappointed.

“Sorry,” she drug out the word, “I changed my mind. Why don’t you sit next to 𝙝𝙚𝙧?” She pointed at Grace.

Janelle looked at Cyrus to back her up, but he shrugged and looked at the ground. She sighed and sat next to Grace at the far end of the room.

“Now that we’re done playing musical chairs, how we officially start our second meeting? I see we have new faces!” Samson gestured to Harper and Cyrus.

“Yiff!” Mo pawed the air. “Let’s begin!”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dakota is 18 btw

Samson and Mo sat on the hill behind the school, looking up at the stars above them. The sun had set, and the two boys gazed at the full moon. Mo got on his knees and howled at the bright, white orb in the sky.

“I know that howl… you’re nervous. I don’t know what we’re going to do either.” Samson admitted. “My plans haven’t worked, and we only have one day left. I guess people don’t like it when you stuff flyers in their lockers, I even promised them a share in my stocks!”

“I told you the e-flyer would’ve worked better, everyone loves an e-flyer!” Mo responded. “I still have my idea…”

“Mo please, the rest of us had a unanimous vote to turn your idea down, no offense.”

“It’s our only option, tomorrow is our last day to get another member! I’ll talk to the principal tomorrow to occupy the gymnasium during study hall. If they won’t listen to us, then we just have to show them.” Mo said, taking Samson’s hands in his. “Trust me.”

“Okay, okay.” A closed smile appeared on Samson’s face before planting a kiss on the taller boy’s cheek. They held each other close and looked up at the moon. “Awoooo!”

——

“You can’t be serious.” Dakota crossed her arms and stormed over to Mr. DJ’s desk. “We’ll look ridiculous, tell them we can’t! My boyfriend will be watching! I didn’t come to school early to be told I’m going to be humiliated.”

“I, for one, think it’s a great idea.” Harper placed a hand on her chest. “My face in the spotlight in front of the entire school, showing them what I’m truly made of. Lucky them! Don’t you agree Janelle?”

“Yes, yes! We’ll lo-“

“Cyrus?”

“Yeah, sure, whatever.”

“Sorry, Dakota looks like you’ve been outvoted. Mr. DJ can’t save you now,” Harper said with a smug smile, turning her head to mimic kissing someone which earned her a few chuckles.

Mr. DJ stood from his seat and placed a hand on Dakota’s shoulder. “Looks like I’m out of options here. And I’m only supervising, making sure you kids don’t get in too much trouble.”

“But I’m not a-“ Dakota bit her tongue and shook her head. “You know what, it’s fine. Maybe it won’t be that bad.”

Mo stood from his seat where Jaynie, Samson, and himself had placed three chairs at the front of the room for the leaders of the club. “Thank you, Harper. Now, I arranged for us to perform during study hall for the school, meaning we need to meet up during lunch to rehearse. I have the 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙚𝙘𝙩 song for us to perform with easy enough choreography. Think Glee season 2 episode 14. It won’t fail.”

“And if it does?” Grace asked.

“Then this afternoon will be our final meeting.”

——

Every student at Plain Springs was gathered into the gymnasium during study hall for an unspecified reason. Confused murmurs filled the classroom until the junior history teacher, Mr. DJ, walked in with a microphone in his hands. “Thank you for gathering for the Furry Convention Club’s performance today! If anyone is interested in joining, we join in my classroom after school.” He heard groans throughout the large room and a few students getting up to leave. “Don’t bother, we’ve locked the doors. Now give it up for the FCC with We own the night!”

The music started playing and each member appeared doing the choreography they learned from the Disney Channel music video on YouTube.

Samson stood in the front. “I'm the alpha, I'm the leader, I'm the one to trust.”

“Together we do whatever it takes, we're in this pack for life,” they all joined in and howled in harmony. “Awooo! We’re wolves, we own the night. Oh, we own what we own, oh, we own the night Oh, we own what we own, we own the night! The only thing that is worse than our bark's our bite Oh, we own what we own, we own the night!”

They finished with Harper pushing her way to the front, standing in a proud pose. Instead of thunderous applause, there was deafening silence and awkward glances.

“Everyone’s free to go. For now.” Mr. DJ shooed all the students away before turning to the club behind him. “Fingers crossed.” He lifted his crossed fingers and walked out behind the hoard of snickering students.

——

Once school let out, the club met back up in Mr. DJ’s classroom. Jaynie paced back and forth at the front of the room with her arms crossed. “That went-“

“Terrible! Utterly terrible.” Samson interrupted. “We can kiss this club goodbye.”

“It’s not fair!” Harper chimed in. “This wouldn’t be happening if Ms. Freak over there hadn’t made me mess up by stepping on my foot.” She shot a nasty glare at Grace.

Cyrus shook his head. “Harper, come on chill o-“

“First you kill my best friend and now you’re telling me what to do? Unbelievable! You know what, you’re uninvited from coming to the next convention with me and Janelle. I’ll sell your ticket for new upgrades on my fursuit.”

The tension was thick in the room, and the silence made it stronger. Eventually, Mr. DJ spoke up, looking at his watch. “Looks like there are only five minutes left. Start packing up and saying your goodbyes.”

Disappointed sighs and glances were shared as everyone began collecting their belongings when suddenly the classroom door opened.

Tye.

“Hi, guys…” They gave a shy wave. “I’m here to join the club.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter before the other characters are introduced

“Tye!” Grace jumped out of her seat and ran over to Tye, wrapping her arms around them. “I knew you wouldn’t let us down.”

“Great.” Harper stood from her seat. “Any good reputation this club had is gone. I bet their fursona is something dumb like a skunk or so-“

“Harper, give us a moment before you tear into the new member,” Samson cut her off, and Mo was crouched behind him mimicking vicious claws. “Mr. DJ, does this mean we can keep the group?”

“Yes, I believe it does,” the teacher responded.

“Wait, wait,” Jaynie drew attention to herself. “But… I only count nine of us. We’re still one member short.”

“That’s where you’re wrong,” Mr. DJ opened the drawer in his desk and pulled out a pair of cat ears before putting them on his head. “I’m just as much in this pack as the rest of you. That makes ten. Saved or not, times up. I’ll see you all on Monday.”

As everyone began to leave, Janelle stopped Cyrus in the doorway. “Hey, Cyrus! I know you’ve been avoiding talking to me since last weekend.” He was about to interrupt her but she stopped him. “No, no it’s fine, really. But I had a good time and I was wondering…”

“Look, Janelle,” Cyrus sighed, a look of defeat washing across his face. “You’re _really _sweet, but…” He tried to think of an excuse without having to talk about his actual reason in the middle of an open classroom. “But it’s a bit awkward when there are two people in this club who I’ve–“ He shifted his gaze to the side for a split second. “Yeah. I have to go, I’ll see you around.”__

__As Cyrus left, Janelle followed where his gaze had been across the room, to where Mo was standing with Samson and Jaynie._ _

__“When did Cyrus and Mo fuck?” Harper, who had been standing behind Janelle, exclaimed._ _

__“I- I don’t want to think about that,” Janelle said uncomfortably. “All that matters now is the club is saved.”_ _


	5. Chapter 5

Roger had a problem.

A few days ago, he had misplaced his phone, so he asked Dakota if he could borrow her’s to call his, since he always left his ringer on. She agreed and handed her phone over. The page that was open when he unlocked it was a furry forum under the discussion “How to convince someone to Yiff”. He quickly found his phone and pretended he saw nothing.

“Royshanna and… Nicki, right?” He approached the two girls in the halls who were a grade beneath him. Most of Dakota’s friends didn’t go to Plain Springs, but he had seen her talk to these two a few times. It wasn’t until he got closer that he noticed the matching wolf tails the girls were wearing.

“Do we know you?” The taller of the two asked, shooting a look at him.

“Me and Roy are having our alone time, so make it quick,” Nicki said, grabbing Royshanna’s hand.

“Roger. That’s my name. You two know my girlfriend Dakota?”

“O-M-G Dee of course we know her!” Nicki wagged her tail.

“Then you’ll help me, right? I saw she’s been looking at… furry forums?” He said, leaving out the weird details.

“And why should we help you?” Royshanna growled.

“Yeah why?”

“Well you two are-“ Roger gestured to their tails. “I thought maybe you two would be willing to help, but I guess not.”

Royshanna sighed. “Fine. All we’ll say is she joined the Furry Convention Club. The _super _hot history teacher runs it.”__

__Nicki’s eyes lit up. “Ooo I hope I have him next year!”_ _

__“Me too!”_ _

__“Twinsies!”_ _

__“Besties!”_ _

__“Wait I thought we were dating…?”_ _

__——_ _

__That afternoon, Dakota and Roger both walked into the FCC meeting a few minutes late. Roger looked around at the members, and even though he recognized everyone, he didn’t _know _them.___ _

____Dakota hadn’t told him anything about the club. Before the phone incident, all he knew was she had joined a club after school. When he asked to tag along, since he practically joined any club he was eligible for, she hesitantly agreed._ _ _ _

____“Dakota, I see you’ve brought a new member,” Mr. DJ was the first to point out Roger’s presence when they walked in. “A friend?”_ _ _ _

____“Actually, this is my boyfriend. We _did _establish that this is an open invitation club.”___ _ _ _

______Mr. DJ eyed the two of them as they sat at the front._ _ _ _ _ _

______Roger felt a crumpled piece of paper hit the back of his head. He turned around to two girls he didn’t notice sitting in the back corner of the class, wearing the head pieces of their fursuits. They took off their masks and it was Royshanna and Nicki, giving him thumbs up. The two didn’t care to wait for a response before putting the heads back on, and they began barking at each other._ _ _ _ _ _

______Samson brought attention to the front. “Mo and I were talking, and we think it would be a good idea to start some group projects.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“Something to let our inner animal out,” Mo added with a growl. “Any ideas?”_ _ _ _ _ _

______Grace shot her hand up. “What if we all draw our fursonas? And we can present them at the next meeting?” She looked around and saw looks of agreement with her suggestion. “Tye already has us beat, they drew a super cool picture. You should show them!”_ _ _ _ _ _

______Tye put a hand over their mouth as Grace went on about their fursona drawing. “I don’t think that’s such a good idea.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“Oh come on, we need an example to get motivated. Do you want us to give up hope and not be motivated?” Harper asked dramatically, walking over to Tye and grabbing the notebook off of their desk. “Now let’s see here.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______She took a step back when Tye reached out to grab their notebook back. Harper flipped through the pages, stopping when she got to a page that resembled a fursona. Except it had Tye’s face, and the body of a rotting Squirrel. “Well you definitely have creativity, I’ll give you that,” she commented and put the open notebook back on the desk._ _ _ _ _ _

______Mo walked over and looked at the drawing. “Wow, that’s Fur-tastic! That settles it, we’ll have a drawing contest!”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“And what’s the prize?” Harper asked._ _ _ _ _ _

______Mr. DJ dug around in his large desk drawer before revealing a white and light blue patterned tail with a clip that read ‘Furry Convention Club’. “The winner will get the first official piece of FCC merchandise.”_ _ _ _ _ _


	6. Chapter 6

“I don’t think I’m doing this right,” Cyrus said as he tried to contort himself in an unnatural pose. The girl in front of him made it look so easy.

“Don’t wimp out on me now Cyrus, or you’ll never achieve greatness,” Ellie replied. It sounded more like an insult, but she had meant it to be motivating.

She got in an attack pose and pounced forward, clawing at the air before jumping up and doing some fancy ballet move. “Mixing modern dance and our natural survival poses is all the rage right now. And if you’re not staying up with the trends, you might as well be obsolete. Is that what you want?”

“I guess not,” he replied, but he honestly didn’t care. Harper had practically forced him to take dancing lessons from some girl who went viral from dancing on Tiktok with her twin brother. All Harper seemed to care about was being the next big thing, and in this case, she found it on furry Tiktok. Harper insisted that Cyrus learn to dance because Janelle ‘wasn’t coordinated enough’ and the only other person she had to dance with was dead. It wasn’t until Harper had reminded Cyrus of his deceased ex that he agreed.

“That’s what I thought. Now next time you complain, I’ll make you wear the entire fursuit. It won’t be so easy then.” Before they could continue the dance, a timer went off. “Looks like our time is up. See you Thursday at 5 pm, don’t be late.”

Cyrus walked into her house from the backdoor to grab his bag of belongings before he left. As he prepared to leave, he saw a figure standing in the doorway. Ellie’s brother. 

“Zander, right?”

“You remember my name, I’m flattered,” Zander grinned and put a hand up to his heart. “You did great out there, Ellie’s just a tough instructor.”

“Oh, thanks.” Cyrus shrugged. He never talked to either of these two until his first dance lesson two weeks ago because the twins were in the grade below him. “You should come out and join us next time, maybe your sister will chill out.”

“Thanks, but no. We get plenty of practice in together,” he paused. “And the view is great from inside, trust me.”

Ellie walked inside and looked back and forth between Cyrus and her brother. “Am I interrupting? I thought you would have been gone by now.”

“I was just leaving, actually,” Cyrus replied.

“While I still have you, let me ask you something,” Ellie approached him. “Why are you really here?”

“I already told-“

“The whole ‘I think dancing will be a good change for me’ gig isn’t selling. You have to be willing to be uncomfortably open with yourself to truly understand the kind of dancing me and Zander do.”

Zander nodded in agreement. “She’s right. How can you be one with the wild when you’re trapped in an internal cage?”

“Fine, you both want to know why I’m here? Because Harper’s making me. Are you two happy?” Cyrus sighed and crossed his arms. “I should really get going. See you both next time.”

——

Just before the next meeting of the FCC began, two new members walked in with their arms linked together.

“Hello beautiful people,” Ellie waved to the class. 

“We heard about this club and we couldn’t resist,” Zander added.

Janelle looked at them with a look of confusion. “But I invited you both when we _really _needed members, and you both refused.”__

__“That was before we realized what amazing people were in this club!” Ellie forced out._ _

__“Speaking of which, is this everyone?” Zander asked without being obvious of what he was actually wanting to know._ _

__“Everyone important is here,” Harper, who was brushing the hair on her wolf paws, answered. “I haven’t seen Cyrus since last period, which is weird because he usually immediately comes to find me to find out what tasks I have for him to fulfill his need for auto-masochism.”_ _

__Ellie sat down behind Harper, and just as Zander was about to as well, someone walked into the room. The person collided with Zander, spilling a beverage all over his favorite shirt._ _

__“My apple cider!” Cyrus, who had just run into Zander, exclaimed. “Oh, it’s you two. Sorry about that.”_ _

__“It’s fine, it’ll dry.” He saw Ellie shoot him a look since they both knew usually he would have flipped out._ _

__“Cyrus, if you’re done being disruptive, can we get back to starting the drawing competition?”_ _

__“Competition?” Both of the Valles asked simultaneously._ _

__“Can we join? It seems only fair to extend this until our next meeting,” Ellie said._ _

__Harper rolled her eyes. “Sorry not sorry, but this competition is only for people who’ve worked to be here. Last I checked, you both declined your first invitation.”_ _

__“And who said you’re the leader?” Ellie stuck out her tongue. “Nya~”_ _

__Harper gasped. “How dare– Nya~!”_ _

__“Nya,” Ellie aggressively Nya-ed._ _

__Harper grabbed her wolf paws and clawed at Ellie. “Nya, bitch.”_ _

__“You don’t have to be intimidated just because I’m the biggest Tik–“_ _

__“ _Second _biggest, thank you very much,” Harper shot back.___ _

____Roger looked at the two girls and spoke up even though he was out of his depth. “I think it’s only fair to let them join, right Dakota?” He hoped his girlfriend would back him up._ _ _ _

____Dakota was lost in a daze, looking in the direction of the teacher. She twirled a strand of hair around her finger. “Oh um… I think we should ask Mr. DJ. He _is _the teacher after all.”___ _ _ _

______Samson cleared his throat. “Last time I checked, I’m club president. I’ve decided that we’ll extend the deadline to the next meeting._ _ _ _ _ _

______“May the winner get the engraved tail!” Mo wagged his colorful tail. “I wonder how I would look with two…”_ _ _ _ _ _


	7. Chapter 7

Roger was walking to his second-period class which required him to walk up a flight of stairs. As he approached the stairs, two pairs of arms shot out from under the steps, grabbing at his ankles. He tripped but kept his balance, and when he looked down, he saw four wolf paws pawing at his legs. “What the hell?” He kicked at the limbs that had a hold on his jeans.

“That’s no way to treat a lady!”

“Yeah, be fucking chill!”

Royshanna and Nicki appeared from under the flight of stairs and sat like dogs on the ground.

“You’re a fucking idiot, you know that Mr. Gifted Kid?” Royshanna barked.

“What did I do this time?” He asked, feeling uncomfortable by all the eyes and smirks being shot in their direction.

“What did you do? It’s what you didn’t do,” Nicki spoke. “You’re so worried you don’t know your girlfriend anymore, when you don’t realize she’s always drooling over your hot history teacher.”

“But lucky for you, you’re on our good side. We know about an epic furry party happening tomorrow night, do you want the details?”

Roger looked at his watch, realizing he needed to hurry to class. “You two helped me in the past and I appreciate it, but parties are out of my zone. I can handle my own issues.” He began to walk away when he heard a loud laugh behind him. He didn’t have time to see which girl it was because all he saw was the two chasing him on all fours. They barked and growled down the hall until he finally got to class.

——

Jaynie held up a small box filled with votes. “Everyone’s votes are in! Nicki, are you sure you didn’t want to join the competition?”

“Oh!” Nicki laughed in response. “I did join, silly you. My fursona is in the stomach of Royshanna’s fursona.”

“It gives us double the chance of winning,” Royshanna added.

“I-“ Jaynie was at a loss for words. “Okay then. That works out for me, I don’t have to do a recount then.” She set the box down on Mr. DJ’s desk and grabbed the FCC official tail. “Mo, congratulations!”

Mo accepted the tail and let Samson attach the second tail to his jeans. The happy moment was cut short by multiple cries.

“He only won because he’s dating the Alpha!” Harper yelled, and the Valles nodded in agreement. Everyone else seemed content with the outcome though.

“Harper, I’m sure it was a close call,” Mo said, trying to calm her. He hid behind Samson and whined, not wanting to anger the scary lady. “To be fair, my galactic fursona was… out of this world.” Mo mimicked finger guns with the pun, but no one but Samson and Jaynie seemed amused.

——

After the club ended, Zander excused himself and caught up to Cyrus in the hallway. “Cyrus– your dark angel fursona was pretty poggers.”

Cyrus raised an eyebrow at the other boy’s choice of words. “Thanks. Your’s too.”

“I was thinking–“ Zander clapped his hands together– “You should come over sometime, outside of dance lessons that is. We can work on our fursuits together!”

“As long as you promise there will be no dancing involved,” Cyrus cracked a smile.

“Sounds like a plan. A date even,” Zander winked.

But before Cyrus could respond, Ellie came out of the classroom and the twins left. He felt his heart sink as Zander walked away, and he sunk down against the hallway wall. He felt guilty of a crime by even the thought of moving on. How could he? His thoughts of despair were interrupted by a text from Harper.

From: Harper  
_Hurry the fuck up and get out here, don’t forget you’re driving me and Janelle home. She’s reading danatole fanfics out loud, I’m going to strangle her. ___

__He decided to push down his confusing thoughts like he always did and left the school._ _


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When did this Sammo crackfic turn into Apple Cyder central

Royshanna and Nicki were throwing their furry themed house party. They had sent the invite to the FCC group chat, and everyone accepted the invite except for Roger and Jaynie (who had a science project to work on).

Everyone was dancing, barking, and pouncing around the house. Bushy tails swung carelessly on the dance floor.

“Where did you guys get this stuff?” Dakota asked as she took a shot of the mystery liquid Nicki poured her.

“My parents. They don’t care,” Royshanna responded with a hand on her hip.

“What’s a party without some liquor?” Nicki added, downing the contents in her Hello Kitty flask.

“Don’t get trashed though, okay?” Dakota cared about the younger girls, even if they were basically alcoholics at this point.

“No worries, we know how to be-“

“Subtle~” The two said simultaneously. 

In the living room, Mo and Samson were aggressively whip and nae nae-ing at each other. Mo was controlling the music and playing his Katy Perry shuffle playlist. The two boys were singing along with their own lyrics.

“Plain Spring Furry Wolves are undeniable. Fluffy tails, we are the alphas–“

The pair were interrupted by Grace, who approached them with a worried expression. “Have you guys seen Tye? They said they would be here an hour ago!”

Mo looked around. “Nope. No dead squirrels here, sorry.”

Grace sighed and walked away. “I guess I’ll just go home. Why Do I even bother getting my hopes up?” She asked herself. 

Just as she got to the door and opened it, she saw Tye reaching for the door handle. “Sorry, I’m late. I couldn’t find my squirrel pants…”

“I’m just glad you’re here!” She threw her arms around Tye. “Come on, let's go dance!”

The Valles were in a heated dance-off with Harper and Janelle. The competition was close, but the Valles had been dancing since diapers and Janelle had one too many drinks. 

Janelle stumbled and knocked into Samson and Mo, knocking all three of them over. “Janelle, I can’t believe you!” Harper screeched and stormed off.

“We win again!” Ellie announced.

“Are you surprised?” Zander responded.

“Are you going to talk to him?” Ellie pointed to Cyrus, who was walking away from the corner where Dakota, Royshanna, and Nicki were huddled.

“Don’t wait up for me,” Zander straightened the cat ears on his head and approached Cyrus. “Cyrus, hey! Never heard back about those plans of ours.”

“Yeah. I… must’ve forgotten.” Cyrus shrugged. “That’s some pretty impressive dancing you and Ellie were doing over there.”

Zander smiled. “It’s a natural talent. You should let me give you lessons instead. I’ll teach you what actual dancing is. The real world isn’t only TikTok views–“ He twirled Cyrus– “Only sixty percent of it is.”

Cyrus let out a dry chuckle, taken back by being spun around. “Well, I wouldn’t say no.”

“I found a way onto the roof,” Zander changed the conversation topic. “If you’d care to join me?” He extended a hand for Cyrus to take.

Cyrus hesitated and stared at the extended hand. If he accepted, he knew he would stray further from his past. He knew it was his own fear of hurting someone that prevented him from moving– the fear of _caring _for someone again. But for the first time in a long time, he was able to push it down as he smiled and took Zander’s hand.__

__——_ _

__Roger had gotten to the club meeting early. Only Mr. DJ and Jaynie were in the classroom, both busy with their own work._ _

__“Jaynie, hey.” Roger walked up to her._ _

__“Roger… hey.”_ _

__“I know we haven’t talked much since we…”_ _

__“I know. But it’s nice having someone like me here.” Jaynie smiled. They had avoided each other for so long out of things being awkward that it never occurred to her that they could be friends._ _

__“It's funny, we’re both here for people we care about, but we’ve stayed for entirely different reasons.”_ _

__“I’ve grown to care about everyone here.”_ _

__“I wish I felt the same,” Roger admitted as people from the FCC began filling the classroom. “It’s nice to talk again. See you around.”_ _

__Ellie complained loudly as the twins walked through the door. “My feet hurt from all the dancing last night!”_ _

__Zander rolled his eyes. “Okay, Anatole Kinnie.”_ _

__“Dee-Dee you were a party animal last night!” Royshanna exclaimed._ _

__Nicki draped an arm around Dakota. “I don’t remember anything from last night, but if I did, I would totally agree.”_ _

__Dakota looked uncomfortable and tried to silence the two girls, but it was too late. Roger walked over to the three._ _

__“You went to that party last night?” Roger asked._ _

__“Yeah? I don’t have to tell you everything I do, Roger. I’m a grown adult unlike the rest of you.”_ _

__“But you said you canceled on me because you had homework.”_ _

__“Well if you cared about me, you would’ve known that was a lie.”_ _

__“You know I love you, why would you say that? Do we have to do this here?”_ _

__“Yes or else we’re never going to. Maybe we have different definitions of love,” she sounded sad. “Maybe we’re in different stages in our lives.”_ _

__“You can’t be serious–“_ _

__The couple’s argument was interrupted by Mr. DJ when he slammed his hand onto his desk. “Oh enough!”_ _


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you get the Once Upon A Time reference marry me

“Here’s the deal.” Mr. DJ cut off the couple’s arguing. “There are obviously serious issues happening here, so I’m going to give you both a choice.”

“Dee-Jay please don’t do this…” Dakota took a step toward the teacher.

“Too late. Either you both can resign from the FCC and remain a happy couple, or you both can stay but I want to see an end to this relationship right now.” He shrugged.

A look of disbelief washed over Roger’s face. “You can’t be serious. Why do you care about what Dakota and I do?”

Mr. DJ smiled and looked at Dakota. “Let’s just say I’m invested in your future.” 

Roger grabbed his backpack. “This is insane. We won’t stay then.”

Dakota looked between the two before grabbing Roger’s arm to stop him. “Actually… I think I will.”

“But–“ Roger looked at the sly look painted on Mr. DJ’s face. When he heard Royshanna and Nicki laughing behind him, he left the classroom without another word. 

“Should someone go after him?” Grace asked with concerned eyes.

Harper snorted. “We’re better off without normies infiltrating our club anyway,” she shot a look at Jaynie. “But now that Roger’s gone, I have an important announcement-“

Cyrus and Janelle waved a stack of flyers at the other members.

“As everyone knows, homecoming in next week! Make sure you all vote for me for queen, or you may find yourself stuffed in your fursuit at the back of a pizzeria.”

Cyrus walked over to the Valle twins and handed Zander a flyer with Harper’s face printed on it. Neither of them let go of the paper at first, and Zander took this opportunity to pull Cyrus closer to the desk.

“Since when are you willingly one of Harper’s lackeys?”

“It’s a long story.”

“I’m assuming you’ll be at homecoming then?” 

“I’m honestly not sure.” Cyrus frowned when he remembered this would be his first high school homecoming without a date.

“Oh.” Zander matched the other boy’s frown. “Well, I’ll be saving you a dance just in case.”

Cyrus’s expression lit up. “Sounds like a plan.”

——

Club had been over for fifteen minutes and everyone had gone home. Mr. DJ sat at his desk reading through his emails when he looked up from his computer to find Dakota still sitting at her desk. She had been quiet throughout the entire meeting but he didn’t expect to see her still here. 

“Club’s over,” he stood in front of her desk, looking down at the senior.

“Yeah, yeah I know. I just have a lot to think over,” she responded quietly with a sigh. 

Mr. DJ sat on top of his desk and crossed his arms, looking at Dakota with a raised brow. “Why did you stay?”

“I don’t know.”

“I think you do.”

Dakota stared into the teacher’s eyes, trying to figure out what his game was. But his expression was impossible to read. “You’re different. You respect that I’m not some kid anymore. No one cares I’m eighteen and going off to college soon, they treat me like I’m some naive child… why don’t you?”

His cold expression was replaced with the slightest closed smile, and he stood back up and squeezed her shoulder. “I’ll see you at the next meeting. I’m glad you decided to stay.”


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the most normal chapter I’ve written

Samson, Jaynie, and Mo had gotten to the dance early to help prepare. The student council always helped set up school events, and this was no different.

Samson and Jaynie were testing out the sound while Mo was in the storage room attached to the gymnasium gathering more decorations.

The two were struggling to get the main soundbar connecting to the playlist the student council had put together.

“I told you live music would have been a better option,” Jaynie watched with hands on her hips as Samson struggled with the clump of wires and plugs.

“And hire an entire band for homecoming? I don’t think so.”

“I meant a DJ. They play top hits and put their setup together themselves,” she pushed Samson out of the way to try herself. “Instead we have a playlist mainly made out of Katy Perry and Disney originals that won’t play.”

Samson sighed and walked toward the table they had left the sound booth instructions on. He had promised everything would go perfect, but now he was expecting disaster.

A man was standing at the table when Samson approached. When he looked up, he realized the man was Mr. DJ.

“Mr. DJ, what can I help you with?”

“I’ve come to remind you.”

“Remind me of what?” Samson snatched the instruction manual the teacher was reaching for.

“You and your,” he almost gagged, “boyfriend owe me a favor.”

“What is it?”

“I haven’t decided yet. But expect it to be soon.” A cold smile grew on Mr. DJ’s face before walking out of the room.

“Hey, Samson, who is that?” Jaynie called out.

Samson thought Jaynie was talking about Mr. DJ, but when he followed her gaze, he saw a figure standing in the shadows, messing with a box.

Samson squinted. “Oh my god, is that George Salazar?”

The shadow emerged. “Guys, look at this cool yo-yo I found in the back!”

Jaynie shook her head. “Nope. Just Mo.”

——

Mo and Samson were out on the dance floor, dancing casually with each other. Mo shuffled goofily and spun Samson, making the other boy laugh.

“We did a great job,” Samson took both of Mo’s hands in his own.

“ _You_ did a great job. Unless you count Jaynie’s coffee runs and my epic yo-yo skills help.”

Samson nudged Mo playfully. “Please. If the student council was able to set up homecoming this well, imagine prom, or our dance-a-thon next semester!”

“We can focus on all of that later. Right now I’m here to-“ Mo struck a dramatic pose- “dance!”

On the other side of the dance floor, Royshanna and Nicki were trying to teach Grace and Tye a trending TikTok dance.

“I don’t get the appeal of this,” Tye complained but was still trying to replicate the girls’ moves.

“We only have until the end of this song!” Royshanna snapped her fingers to get Tye’s attention back.

“I think these dances are our of both of our league,” Grace stopped and wrapped herself around Tye, planting a quick kiss on their cheek. “Thanks though.”

“We’ll make party animals out of you two eventually,” Nicki joked before taking Royshanna’s hand and walking away.

Dakota, who stood near the punch bowl, considered approaching Royshanna and Nicki to see if they had any alcohol on them, but decided against interrupting their fun. Just because she wasn’t having a good time, didn’t mean others could not. 

The regret of not bringing something to take off the edge crept in when she felt the overbearing weight of loneliness sink in. Only she would be dumb enough to let Roger go. She only wanted to be happy in a relationship, but she began to think she would rather be merely content than alone. 

Another group of students walked in, and Dakota eyed them, hoping to people watch to pass the time.

She frowned when she recognized Roger, in the purple button-up she loved, walking in with another. Dakota tried to make out the short girl talking with Roger, but it was hard to make out in the dark lighting. When they got closer, she was shocked to see Jaynie.

Roger had zero plans to go to homecoming. He had spent the past week filling every waking hour with schoolwork to avoid beating himself up over his breakup with Dakota, which he still managed to do when he would try to sleep. 

After a student council meeting, Jaynie, who he hadn’t spoken to since his last FCC meeting attendance, asked him if he wanted to tag along with her to homecoming. As friends, of course. 

They had dated briefly, for about two months, way back Freshmen year. Even back then besides the occasional hand-holding, it was more of a friendship than a relationship. Between both busying themselves with loads of homework and the pressure from friends and families to act more romantic, they had a messy split up.

Roger had no problem with PDA, but only to a certain extent. Jaynie on the other hand realized she had no desire for romantic relationships, not now or in the future. They went their separate ways and only spoke when needed in student council meetings.

But now in their Junior year, they both held mutual respect for one another. Both teens had always considered themselves mature for their age, and they only further proved themselves by putting the past behind them.

Dakota was none the wiser of this new platonic bond between them. She crossed her arms and tried to keep her emotions at bay. It wasn’t jealousy she felt, but had he rebound to an ex so quick? She tried not to be seen and dipped into the shadows, but she nearly tripped when she bumped into Mr. DJ.

“Dee-Jay, what are you doing here?” Her expression lightened. 

“They needed more chaperones,” he shrugged.

“You don’t seem like the chaperoning type.”

He grinned. “Maybe I agreed because I wanted to see a certain someone.” 

Dakota felt color rising to her cheeks and hoped the dark lights would hide it. “I wish we could dance out there together.”

“Eventually,” he lifted a finger and booped her nose. “You look beautiful tonight.” 

The compliment fell on deaf ears when Dakota frowned, staring off across the gymnasium. Roger, who was standing alone while Jaynie talked to her other friends, was watching Dakota and Mr. DJ suspiciously.

Mr. DJ noticed and clicked his tongue. “I have some chaperoning duties to take care of. Have fun.”

Dakota reached out to stop him, but he was already gone.

Mr. DJ approached the stage and tapped the microphone, gaining everyone’s attention.

“I’m here to announce tonight's winners for homecoming king and queen. All votes were counted by Janelle Duncan and double-checked by Ellie Valle, so all votes are _completely accurate_ ,” he pulled out a card with the winners’ names on them. “Congratulations Harper Perkins and Zander Valle!”

Zander and Harper both went up to the stage and accepted their crowns. The Valle twin adjusted his cheap dollar store crown while Harper gave a dramatic speech.

He scanned the room for familiar faces, but besides Ellie, the person he wanted wasn’t there. At that moment, he heard the creaking of the gymnasium door. That’s when he saw him walk through the door. Cyrus.

Music for the first slow dance of the night began playing, and Zander and Harper descended onto the dance floor.

“Are you going to dance with me or not?” Harper looked at him expectantly.

“One second-“ Zander ducked into the crowd until he found Cyrus. “You came.”

“I changed my mind.”

“You clean up nicely. I was worried you wouldn’t come,” he admitted. “May I have this dance?” He held out a hand to Cyrus.

Before Cyrus could accept, Harper marched over to the two boys. “Zander Valle, we’re supposed to dance.”

“I’m asking Cyrus for this dance instead.”

“Cy-Cyrus?” Harper sputtered as her face went red from frustration. “Cyrus, if you know what’s good for you, let the king and queen dance with each other.”

Cyrus looked back and forth between Zander and Harper. He knew he would have to explain his history with Harper to the other boy one day, but that night was not tonight.

“Sorry, Harper. Why don’t you ask Janelle instead?”

Zander smirked at Cyrus’s response and dragged him onto the dance floor before Harper could respond.

“I’m glad you came.”

“Someone had to save you from a dance with Harper.”

Zander guided Cyrus’s arm around his shoulder, and he placed his hand on the taller boy’s waist to lead the dance. Cyrus’s face flushed when Zander interlocked their free hands together.

“What made you change your mind?” Zander asked as they slow danced on the dance floor.

“I wanted to see you,” Cyrus allowed a small smile to spread across his face. “There’s a lot I need to tell you.”

“Now?”

“No. Not now.”

“Then it can wait,” Zander felt the space between them shrinking as the song came to an end.

He saw the uneasy look in Cyrus’s eyes and could only imagine what was going through the taller boy’s head. “Just focus on me. Do the steps we practiced.”

The room fell silent when the song ended, and each of them could only focus on the sound of each other’s breath and heartbeats.

Zander closed the space between them with a kiss which Cyrus immediately eased into. When they pulled away, the gymnasium returned to its nosy self.

They both grinned at each other and Zander cupped Cyrus’s face in his hands, and the two continued dancing as the music played on.

Samson and Mo sat at a table together and watched Zander and Cyrus.

“Looks like we owe Jaynie twenty bucks.” Samson shook his head.

Mo relaxed in his chair with a hand placed on Samson’s thigh and his head on the shorter boy’s shoulder. “I thought Harper would have ripped one of them apart by now.”

Their moment was interrupted by Mr. DJ approaching their table. “I’m here to cash in my favor.”

Samson raised a brow. “What do you want?”

“I’ll be your DJ at the dance-a-thon next semester.”

“Do you even DJ?” Mo crossed his arms. 

“And why would we trust you with that? Why not ask to lead the committee instead?” Samson added. 

“Because if you don’t, I’ll disband the FCC.”


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic is just getting good;)

About two weeks after homecoming, the hype from the school dance had died down.

Samson was finishing up the meeting with an announcement. “Before we conclude this meeting of the FCC, as the Alpha, I say we need to start planning–“ 

He was interrupted by a loud, dramatic sigh.

Samson turned his head to Mr. DJ, who had his chin rested in his palm with a pout.

Samson raised a brow. “What’s wrong?” He tried to seem sincere, but the two still weren’t on the best terms since homecoming.

Instead of answering, Mr. DJ gripped his heart and stared distantly across the room.

_Dee-Jay never knew his biological parents._

_He only knew the stories he was told as a child._

_Neither of his parents showed up to his birth, and according to his adoptive parents, they found him floating in a sewer system that led straight out of Hell._

_Even if they were wolves, Dee-Jay considered himself apart of the pack._

_The Alpha brought the infant back to the tribe and announced, “I shall name this young one David Jcrane. DJ for short.”_

_As he grew older, his fellow pack members expected him to join the family business: the local animatronic pizzeria._

_But he refused. He needed to be free and see the world. So one night he wrote a letter, packed his belongings, changed his name to Dee-Jay, and left for the city._

_Now he found himself as a high school teacher, teaching eleventh graders history. He was shunned from his family whenever he would try to contact them, but when he received a text from his mother saying she wanted to talk, he was left anxiously waiting._

_He was prepared to make his pack proud, and he was certain that his plans for hosting the dance-a-thon in the spring would change everything._

“Um… Mr. DJ?” Jaynie waved a hand in front of his face. “Are you okay?”

“Perfectly fine.” The teacher responded.

Everyone’s attention was brought to the loud noise of a FaceTime call from Mr. DJ’s laptop.

He opened the call from the unknown number and was immediately greeted by the loud barking and growling of a full-grown wolf. His mother.

The wolf on the other end continued barking until Mr. DJ hung up and slammed the laptop shut. The students looked at their teacher in shock as he teared up and ran out of the classroom.

“What a little bitch boy,” Harper cackled.

“Something tells me he’s not okay,” Mo, who was hiding under one of the desks, spoke up.

Dakota frowned. “We should do something to cheer him up. After all, he’s the only reason this club exists.” 

Grace gasped and raised a hand. “What if we host a karaoke night! I have a karaoke machine in my basement!”

Everyone nodded in agreement.

“I know exactly how to get him to come,” Dakota said, “Leave it to me.” 

——

Dakota was leading Mr. DJ through the door of Grace’s house, only looking back at the man to make sure his eyes were closed. “Are you ready for your surprise?” 

“I’m always ready for your surprises.” Even though his eyes were closed, she could practically hear him wink. 

She led him down the basement stairs. “Okay, look!”

All the members, except the Valles, were gathered in the basement. All of the students were gathered around Mo, who was singing Michael in the Bathroom.

“A night with the pack is just what you need. I’m going to put us on the list to sing,” she smiled and ran off toward the karaoke machine.

Her thoughts disappeared when she saw Roger standing against a wall. “What are you doing here? You never come to anything like this.”

“Jaynie invited me. But I was waiting for you to come.”

“Ah. Jaynie. You two seem close.”

“We’re just friends,” he shrugged. “I didn’t plan on staying long.” 

“A friend?” She sighed. “Sure.”

Roger physically cringed at what Dakota was implying. “What? No, Dakota it isn’t like that. Even if it was, I’m not the one who wanted to break up to run off with a teacher.”

Dakota frowned and looked to the ground. He was right.

“We miss you at club meetings. _I_ miss you.”

“I think coming here was a mistake. Bye, Dakota.” He looked hurt as he left. 

Cyrus had been anxiously checking his phone every minute all night. “I wonder if Zander is coming,” he said to Harper and Janelle.

“I’m sure he’s just running late,” Janelle tried to ease his worries.

“But what if–“

Harper rolled her eyes. “Cyrus, why don’t you shut up and go take a shit.”

“But I already went today!” He crossed his arms but whirled around when he felt a tap on his shoulder.

“You didn’t think I stood you up, did you?” Zander smiled and the two shared a quick kiss. “Ellie couldn’t find her good cat ears.”

The room was silenced when Tye tapped on the karaoke machine’s microphone.

“Hi. I’m going to be singing a song I wrote.” They looked around the basement and Grace gave them two thumbs up. “It’s called My Weird.” 

For the first time since the Furry Convention Club was created, the group truly felt like a pack as they sang the night away.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out the WATA Universe series attached to this fic, I’ll be updating it with oneshot lore that will be referenced in future chapters

Winter break had come to an end after a long two weeks.

Mo had been anxiously, yet excitedly anticipating for the lunch period to begin. His family had gone on a last minute trip to the glorious land of Canada, and Mo had not seen his friends since the last day of school before break. He had yet to find time to see Jaynie or Samson since the day began, but that did not stop the trio from nonstop texting on their group chat over the last fourteen days.

He stepped into the cafeteria with a flair of pep in his steps as he hummed along to Lady Gaga and Bob Marley’s cover of the hit song Two Player Game that played from his chunky red headphones. Mo smoothed out his sky blue vest covered in white snowflakes as he approached the designated FCC lunch table, where none of the other group members had noticed his presence yet.

Ever since their karaoke night in December, the group’s bond had become stronger than ever. Even if certain people claimed they only sat at the table to “make the group look like less of losers than they already were”, everyone knew there was nothing but love between the members.

“Guess who?” Mo asked in a sing-song voice as he placed his hands on each of his boyfriend’s shoulders.

Samson whirled around in his seat and gazed up at the boy standing behind him. “Mo-Boo-Berry!”

Mo smiled widely and sat in the open space next to Samson on the edge of the bench-like seat. The two leaned into each other and kissed, their smiles lingering against the other’s lips. 

The happy reunion was cut short by Jaynie, who sat on the other side of Samson, loudly snapping her fingers in front of the boys’ faces. “Samson, did you forget you had something to tell the table?”

“Oh! Yes, Jaynie, I did.” Samson pulled away and intertwined his fingers with Mo’s. “I just wanted to let everyone know that there will be big news at our meeting today after school.”

“Can I know what it is?” Mo leaned in close to Samson’s ear and asked quietly.

“As much as I love you, it’s a surprise,” Samson replied in an equally quiet tone. “Not even Jaynie knows what it is.”

“Maybe we’re doing another live performance!” Zander guessed, his voice loud enough to hear over everyone else at the table. “I’ve been wanting to choreograph a number to a Britney song.”

“Or maybe we’re setting off firecrackers behind the school!” Ellie enthusiastically added at the same volume.

“What do you think, Cyrus?” Zander asked the boy sitting next to him, who was trying to stifle a laugh behind his hands.

“I think you’re both insane,” Cyrus held his laughter down into a quick chuckle.

Harper huffed and crossed her arms. “Why do you never laugh at my jokes like that, Janelle?”

Janelle stumbled over her words as she tried to defend herself. “I always try to laugh at your jokes… but I can never tell when you’re joking or being serious.”

“Ugh. Always and never, Janelle!”

Janelle whispered while trying not to get too close to Harper. “You don’t have to be upset just because Cyrus doesn’t talk to us anymore. You still have me!”

“What are we talking about?” Nicki interrupted and squeezed in with Royshanna.

“Like we’d tell you two Sophomores,” Harper rolled her eyes.

“Aren’t you two also Sophomores?” Royshanna asked.

“I don’t have time for this,” Harper announced as she stood from her seat and stormed off, dragging Janelle with her. 

Royshanna and Nicki hissed at the two girls as they left the cafeteria, only stopping when they were out of sight.

“Do you have to do that every time someone walks away?” Dakota asked the pair. 

“We have to keep the high ground,” Royshanna replied.

“And hold a high ranking with the Alpha,” Nicki added. 

“I think you know _a lot_ about that.”

Royshanna and Nicki covered their mouths and snickered.

Dakota felt burning color rise to her face. “My… connection with Dee-Jay is none of your concern.”

The two Sophomores looked across the cafeteria to where the crew team sat; where Roger sat with a gloomy look in his eyes.

“Whatever you say,” they both said in unison. 

“Are you glad you joined?” Grace asked Tye with a smile.

Tye took a moment to reflect on the question, but they soon met Grace’s gaze with joy. “I am. I didn’t think I would be welcomed here, but this is the closest I’ve had to a family in a long time.”

Content with Tye’s answer, Grace pressed a soft kiss to Tye’s lips and rested her head on their shoulder as the table’s conversation continued.

——

The history classroom was full of overlapping chatter from the members of the FCC.

Royshanna and Nicki took turns throwing paper airplanes across the room to pass the time.

“Babe, watch this.” Royshanna took the paper airplane and watched it glide across the room until it hit Grace in the back of her head, getting stuck in one of the girl’s curls.

“Watch where you’re throwing those things!” Tye shouted across the room as they took the paper device out of Grace’s hair and chucked it back at the girls, causing them to duck to avoid being hit.

Samson cleared his throat and stood at the front of the classroom. “If I can have everyone’s attention–“

The group of students ignored him over their conversations.

“I can do you one better, Roy.” Nicki aggressively threw her paper airplane toward the front of the classroom, but its course was abruptly stopped by a hand catching it midair.

“I believe the Alpha is trying to say something,” Mr. DJ crumpled up the paper airplane and tossed it in the trashcan beside his desk.

“Thank you, Mr. DJ,” Samson eyed the teacher with distrust. “I’m excited to announce that our very own Mr. DJ was generous enough to buy each of us tickets to the furry convention coming to town next month!” 

Mo pumped his fist in the air, causing his rainbow and FCC official tail to sway with the motion. “I can’t wait to show off my furry pride! Awooo!”

“Yes, well—“ Mr. DJ checked his watch— “I’m afraid with that happy announcement, our time is up for today. I’ll see you all on Wednesday.”

He watched as the students collected their belongings and slowly exited the classroom. When he finally knew that he was alone, Mr. DJ dug through the bottom drawer of his desk until he pulled out a framed picture of a man that was identical to him.

He ran his thumb tenderly over the picture.

“Just a little while longer. I promise.”


End file.
